Wire machine



Oct. l, 1929. H, E, FRENE'TE 1,729,773

WIRE MACHINE Filed June 3. 1,927 4 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 1, 41929.

H. E. FRENETTE 1,729,773

WIRE MACHINE Filed June 3. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. l, 1929T H E. FRENETTE I 1,729,773

WIRE MACHINE Filed June 5, 1927 v 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

Oct. 1, 1929.

H'. E. FRENETTE WIRE MACHINE Filed June 5. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct. l 1929 UNITED sTATes HARRY E. FRENETTE, OF DULUTH, MNNESQTA WIRE MACHINE Application filed .Tun-e 3, 192'?. Serial No. 196,281.

This invention relates to a new and improved wire machine and more particularly to a machine for bending and twisting wire or similar metal elements.

Machines have heretofore been developed for bending and twisting wire, such machines including what is known as four slide machines having plungers reciprocating in relation toy the work from four different direclo tions` In some instances, however, such as 'in the manufacture of post attaching clips havino a twisted portion, it is impossible to make this twist with such types of machines.

It is an objectof the present invention tov provide a new and improved machine adapted to both twist and bend wire or similar metal elements.

It is a further object to provide a machine of this character which is automatic in its operation and adapted for commercial production.

Other and further objects willappear as the description proceeds.

' I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2,-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical y section taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1; l

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5-f5 of Figure 4;

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary views shoWingthe .dies and plungers in differentrelative positions;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the form of clip made by the machine;

Figure 10 is ak face view of this clip applied to a fence post; and

Figure l1 is a section taken on line 11-711 of Figure 16.

The machine comprises a base or table 21 supported upon the legs 22. The horizontal wire straightening rolls 23 and the vertical Wire straightening rolls 24 are carried on the laterally extending bracket 25.` The wire feeding construction comprises the jaw 26 which is carried by arm 27 rotatable about thepivot 28. This jaw 26 grips the wire against the lug 29. The arm 27 is limited in movement by the adjustable stud 30 and is drawn away from this stud by spring 3l. 55 rlhe cam plunger 32 makes a connection with the sliding biock 33 which permits alimited play between the plunger and block. This plunger is connected to the upper arm of the bell crank lever 34 by the link 35. This bell 60 crank lever is rocked by mechanism which forms no part of the present invention and has not been shown in detail.

The main drive shaft 36 iS driven through pulley 37 and power is transmitted from the 65 shaft 36 to the cross shaft 38 by means .ofy a gear meshing with the gear 39. The shaft 38. Carries a mitre gear v40 vmeshing with mitre gear4l O11 Shaft 42. The shaft V38, at its other end, car-ries a mitre gear 43 meshing with mitre gear- 44 on shaft 45. The shaft 45 carries a mitre gear 46 meshing with the mitregear 47 on the shaft 48, The table or base 2l is thus provided with rotating shafts upon ali of its four sides. Y 75 Theshaft 48 carries a cam 49 which is engaged by cam roller 50 carried by one end of the rocker arm 51. The other endrof the rocker arm 51 carries a gripper adapted to engage the wire 52. The wire straightening y and feeding mechanism which has been described is all of usual form and in detail forms no part of the present invention.

The shaft 38carries the cam disc 53 which has a cam race 54 formed therein. Theycam rollery 55 carried by one end of the rock lever 56, runs in this cam race and gives a controlled rocking movement to the lever 56. The lever 56 is pivoted at 57 to a support 58 carried by the table 21. As shown in detailin Figure 4, 90 the end of the lever 56 is pivotally connected to a stud 59 which extends from a collar 60 in threaded connection with the sleeve 61. This sleeve 61 is provided with an integral nut 62 for purposes of adjustment. The 95 sleeve 61 surrounds an upper reduced portion of the vertical shaft 63 and abuts against the shoulder 64. The sleeve 61 is locked against rotation by the lock nut 61. The sleeve 6l and shaft 63 reciprocate in a bore formed in 100 f the die-holding member 65 which latter is supported in the support member 58. The lower portion of the vertical shaft 63 is provided with a rack 66 meshing with a gear 67 which is formed on the die-rotating member 68. The removable housing 69 is provided to enclose the lower end of the shaft 63.

The push rod 70 extends through an axial bore in the rotating die holder 68. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, this push rod 70 has its rear end secured to a slide 71 which is provided with a cam roller running in acam race in the cam disc 72. Referring now to Figure 2, the die supporting block 65 carries the upper fixed die 73 and the lower fixed die 74. The rotatable die 75 is carried on the end of the member 68 and rotates with that member.

The left-hand slide or plunger 76 is provided with a roller ruiming in the cam race 77 of cam disc 78 carried by shaft 42. This cam race and roller connection serves to reciprocate the slide 76 in proper timed relation with the operation of the other parts of the machine. The slide 7 6 carries the die block 79 which is adjustably retained in place by the screw 80. This die block contains the reciprocating die member 81 having the finger 82 extending therefrom.

The right-hand reciprocating plunger or slide 83 carries the die block 84 adjustably positioned by means of screw 85. This slide 83 is reciprocated by means of a roller running in the cam race 86 formed in the cam disc 87. As shown in detail in Figures 6 to 8, the die block 84 has the pivoted die member 88. secured thereto by means of the pivot pin 89. The die 88 is normally retained at its clockwise limit of movement by means of the spring 90 which is secured to the block 84 by screws 91. The die member 88 is provided with the bending surface 92 and the cam surface 93.

The cutter slide 94, as shown in Figure 1, is provided with the cam surface 95 engaging the rotating cam 96 carried by shaft 48. This slide is normally held against the cam by means of the tension spring 97. The slide is provided with a movable cutter blade adapted to cooperate with the fixed cutter member 98. This cutter has not been shown in full detail as it may be of standard form and the details form no part of the present invention.

The slide 99 is provided with a cam roller running in the cam race 100, formed in the cam disc 101 carried by the shaft 48. As best shown in 'Figures 1 and 8, this slide 99 carries the plunger holder 102 which is adjustably retained on the slide by means of the screw 103. This plunger holder 102 carries the plunger 104 which, as shown in Figure 3, has a notched end. This plunger is rotatably carried in theV holder 102 and its rear portion 105 is encircled by a spring 106, one end of which is secured to the plunger 104 and the other end to the plunger holder. This torsion spring permits the plunger to be rotated but serves to restore it to a position with the notch in the end extending horizontally, as shown in Figure 3, as soon as the plunger is withdrawn from engagement with the element which rotates it. The table 21 is provided with a discharge opening 107 and the discharge chute 108, as shown in Figure 8. Any suitable receptacle may be placed below the chute 108 to receive the work as it is discharged from the machine.

Referring now to Figures 9, 10 and 1.1, the machine` is adapted to form a wire securing clip such as shown in these figures. The clip has the hook 119 adapted to engage one edge of the fence post 110. Tt has the twisted depending loop portion 111 and the further horizontal portion 112 extending across the face of the post. It is then provided with the shoulder 113 engaging the opposite edge of the post and the extended portion 114 which is adapted to be struck by an implement, such as a hammer, to bend the clip to the dotted line posit-ion of Figure 11 when it is positively secured to the post. The form of post shown is provided with enlargements 115 along` its edge and the clip is applied between adjacent enlargements and consequently cannot slip vertically of the post.

ln the use of the apparatus wire is fed from any suitable wire holder through the straightening rolls 28 and 24, and through the wire gripper until its end brings up against the blade on the wire cutting slide. l/Vlien the parts assume t-he proper position under power supplied through the power shaft and the several counter shafts, the wire will be positively gripped by the jaw 26. The wire gripper carried by the rocking arm 51, engages the wire and holds it so that it cannot be pulled out of the machine to the left. While the wire is thus gripped the rocker arm 34 pulls the slide 38 to the left after first releasing the `ia-w 26 from its engagement with the wire. As the slide 33 completes its movement to the left and begins its movement to the right, the plunger 82 forces the jaw 26 into engagement with the wire and the wire holder on the end of the rocker arm 51 lifts from the wire under the control of the cam disc 49. The movement of the slide 83 to the right then carries the end of the wire on to the right a distance governed by the length of the movement of the slide. It will be understood that before the movement of the wire commences the cutter slide 94 is retracted to move the movable cuttingblade out of the path of the wire. This retraction is accomplished by the spring 97 holding the cam surface 95 on the slide against the rotating cam 96.

Reference is now made to Figures 6, 7 and 8, which show the steps in the bending of the wire. The wire is fed across the face of the dies between the upper fixed die 73 and the lower fixed die 74, as shown in Figure 6. It also extends across the recess between the two portions of the rotatable die 75. The first forming movement consists in the movement of t-he slide 99 toward the wire which forces the notched end of the plunger 104 against the wire. The wire is caught in the. notch on the end of the plunger and a loop of the wire is pushed into the axial bore in the rotatable die member 7 5. This step has taken place in Figure 6 and the plunger 104 is shown in section. The next step in the formation consists in the rotation of the rotatable die member 7 5. This is accomplished by means of the cam disc 53, the rock lever 56, the vertical shaft 63 and its rack 66 which meshes with the gear 67, cut on the rear portion of the rotatable die member, as shown in Figures 3, l and 5. By this rotation of the member 75, t-he wire is brought to the formation shown in Figure 7. It will be observed that the loop in the wire has been twisted into a plane substantially at right angles to the planes of the adjacent wire portions. The laterally extending portions of the wire are prevented from swinging around with the rotatable die by their engagement with the adjacent portions of the fixed die.

The formation of the clip is completed by the simultaneous inward movement of the two side slides 76 and 83. The die linger 82 forces the left end of the clip up against the adjacent portion of the fixed die 73 and also against the adjacent end of the rotatable die 75. This serves to form the shoulder 113 and the extending portion 114, shown in Figure 9. The fixed die 73 is provided with a hook portion 116 and with the cam portion 117. The adjacent portion lof the rotatable die forces the wire against the bottom of the hook portion 116 to form the first part of the bend necessary to form the hook 119 shown in Figure 9. The die member 88 comes into engagement with the fixed die after starting the bending movement of the end of the clip, the cam surface 93 on the member 88 engaging the cam surface 117 on the fixed die 73. This causes the die member 88 to rock about its pivot 89 as it continues this inward movement and bends the end of the wire down around the upper portion of the fixed die hook 116 and lcompletes the formation of the clip.

Vhile my machine has been shown and described as forming one particular form of wire hook, it is obviously capable of forming a wide range of wire twisting and bending operations. Any suitable variation in the contour of the xed and movable dies and plungers may be made to accommodate it to t-he desired use. The machine is capable of forming a variety of twists and loops making various angles with the remainder of the arl' ticle formed. I therefore contemplate such changes and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a metal working machine, a pair of dies for bending a portion of a piece of metal, means for rotating said dies for twisting said portion relative to the remainder of the piece of metal and slides for bending the ends of the piece of metal in a plane commonvto both ends and substantially normal to the plane containing the twisted portion.

2. In a wire working machine, a pair of dies for bending an intermediate portion of a piece of wire, and means for rotating said dies for twisting said bent portion out of the plane of the remainder of the wire.

3. In a wire working machine, a pair of dies for bending an intermediate portion of a piece of wire, and means for jointly rotating said dies for twisting said bent portion out of the plane of the remainder of the wire, and means for bending the ends of the wire.

4:. In a wire working machine, a pair of dies for bending an intermediate portion of a piece of wireand means for jointly rotating said dies for twisting said bent portion out of' the plane of the remainder of the wire, and means for bending the ends of the wire in a common plane.

5. In a wire working machine, means for forming an open loop in a median portion of a piece of wire, and means receivingthe loop for twisting said loop out of the plane of the ends of the piece of wire.

6. In a wireworking machine, means for forming an open loop in a median portion of a piece of wire, and means for engaging and twisting said loop out of' the plane of the ends of the piece of wire and for offsetting the end portions of the wire in said plane.

7. In a metal working machine, a fixed die, a unitary movable die carried by the fixed die, and a plunger adapted to force a median portion of a piece of metal into said movable die.

8. In a metal working machine, aI fixed die, a rotatable die carried by the fixed die, and a plunger adapted to force a portion of a. piece of metal into said rotatable die.

9. In a metal working machine, a fixed die, a rotatable die carried by the fixed die, and a plunger adapted to force a portion of a piece of metal into said rotatable die, said plunger being rotatable with the rotatable die.

10. In a met-al working machine, a fixed die, a rotatable die, and a reciprocating plunger in the plane of the rotating die adapted to cooperate with the fixed and rotatable ies.

11. In a metal working machine, a fixed die, a rotatable die, a reciprocating plunger in the plane of' the rotating die adapted to cooperate with the fixed and rotatable dies, and a recipro cating plunger operating in a plane normal to the plane of the rotatable die.

12. In a metal Working machine, a fixed die, a rotatable die carried by the fixed die, and a plunger adapted to force a portion of a -piece of metal into said rotatable die, said plunger being located along the axis of rotation of the rotatable die.

13. In a metal Working machine, a fixed die, a rotatable die carried by the xed die,

' and a plunger adapted to force a portion of a piece of metal into said rotatable die, said plunger being located along the axis of rotation of the'rotatable die and being rotatable With the rotatable die. y

14.- In a Wire bendingl machine, a fixed die, a rotatable die carried by the fixed die, a plunger adapted to forcea loop of Wire into the rotatable die, the rotatable die being rotated thereafter to twist the loop and to bend the Wire adjacent the loop in cooperation With the fixed die. f

15. In a Wire bending machine, a fixed die, a rotatable die carried by the fixed die, a plunger adapted to force a loop of Wire into the rotatable die, the rotatable die being rotated thereafter to twist the loop and to bend the Wire adjacent the loop in cooperation with the fixed die, and reciprocating plungers cooperating With both the fixed and rotatable dies to further bend the Wire.

Signed at Duluth, Minnesota, this 17k day of May, 1927.

HARRY E. FRENET'IE. 

